On The Narrow Waves
by MoshiMoshiSammyDesu
Summary: Mathew Williams is being deployed into the navy in WW2 on the SS Pike, without his brother Alfred. When Alfred sneaks into the submarine by taking someone else's place, he meets Arthur Kirkland, who is sharing a bunker with him, and the will to survive.
1. Chapter 1

~chapter one~

Mathew Williams was at the back of the single filed line that was formed by the captains. He shuffled his feet on the cold cement, trying to calm down as the soldiers yelled out the roll call of the soldiers that were to board.

"FRANCIS BONNEFOY!" Mathew could see the vein in the captain's forehead pounding as he shouted out the names on his list.

"HERE SIR!"

"IVAN BRAGINSKI!"

"HERE SIR!"

Mathew could hear the voices getting closer to him as the soldiers called out more names. He didn't want to be here. He hated this war. He was too young to fight in the first world war, but now that he's legally old enough, there was no stopping the flood of every young man from getting deployed to the front lines. Every man, accept his brother. Alfred F. Jones. He loved his brother dearly. Of course Mathew would rather have his brother be safe at home rather than fighting in this war, but he didn't want to have to face this alone. The memory of his brother being rejected for the navy was still fresh in his mind. He remembers being told to change into his new uniform, while watching his brother limping out the door. He had become weak from some kind of fever going around, and sprained his frail ankle by just tripping over a chair; therefore the soldiers said he couldn't be deployed with Mathew, or the navy, until the problem was fixed.

Mathew found himself dazing off while the role call was only a few short of him. He straightened his glasses and put his heels together.

"ARTHUR KIRKLAND!"

"HERE SIR!" This was the first man Mathew actually had a glance at. He had straight blonde hair -much unlike his hair that he considered to obnoxiously curl at the end- and thick eyebrows that were brought together when he yelled his response.

"GILBERT BEILSCHMIDT!"

"READY TO GO, SIRS!"

"THAT'S "HERE SIR" MR. BEILSCHMIDT!"

"I BELIVE THAT'S WHAT I SAID SIR!" Mathew could hear the soldier mutter "Damn hick" under his breath, while Mathew himself had to bite his tongue to make sure he didn't let a giggle out.

"MATHEW WILLIAMS!" He looked up to see the soldier right in front of him, with the same vein in his forehead as before.

"Here sir."

"LOUDER MR. WILLIAMS!"

"HERE SIR!..." Mathew could tell his voice trailed off in the end, but the soldier let it go. To his surprise, the soldier called out one more name, even though Mathew was the last in line.

"RAIVIS GALANTE!"

"HERE SIR!" The voice came from behind the line, about 15 feet away. But even from there, Mathew knew the voice didn't come from a Raivis Galante. He didn't turn to face him; afraid the soldier would notice and suspect something. He waited until he arrived next to Mathew at the end of the line.

"TRY TO BE _ON TIME_ NEXT TIME GALANTE! AND WHY ARE YOU LIMPING?"

"I-it's my shoes sir, not quite the right fit."

"WELL MAKE IT WORK!"

"Will do sir." The soldier walked to the front of the line to discuss something with the other captains. Mathew could feel every muscle in his body stiffen as he turned to face the man next to him.

"Alfred! What the hell are you doing here! You got rejected! You should be at home, not fighting a war! None the less _sneaking_ into a war! How the hell did you get in here?" Mathew notices his voice was raising, and decided to take a few breaths before he ended up screaming.

Alfred looked at his brother with his sparkling blue eyes and fixed his glasses on his nose, giving him a kind of weak smirk.

"I didn't _sneak_ in. I just now have to be referred to as "Raivis Galante". You should be calling me a hero Mattie! That poor guy was shaking in his boots!"

"And you're going to be breaking _more_ bones in your boots if you don't get out of here and bring back that other guy! What happened to him anyway! And how did you get here!"

"Before I left the physical exams for the deployment, I snuck into the back room to see if I could catch up with ya one last time before you left," Alfred said as he looked down, "but everyone had left for the roll call. Accept the guy named Raivis Galante. He looked as if he was just a kid, but his papers said he was old enough. He was back there crying, sitting in the corner. He said he wasn't ready. He didn't want to go to war. Didn't want to leave his family behind and everything.

"I think he remembered me from the line leading to the exams, because he wasn't scared that I was gonna call the soldiers or anything. I just kinda stayed there until he calmed down a bit. After he did, I told him to give me his uniform. When he started to ask why I just told him louder, then he did." Alfred looked into Mathew's eyes, expecting them to be furious, but they weren't. They weren't quite kind, but Alfred had a feeling he would be forgiven.

"I changed into his uniform and told him to change back into his clothes. After I got the uniform on I told him to give me his papers. Those told me his name 'n stuff like that. Ha-ha, I guess it's kinda both of our names now." Alfred's eyes smiled, but looked back at his shoes. He took a quick breath, he knew they would be boarding soon, so he made the rest of his story as fast as possible.

"I told him to go home Mattie. I couldn't let him come here like that. So I took his place. He tried to object but I wouldn't let him. 'Cause ya know a true hero always gets his way. So I came out here as quick as I could. I know it might've been a stupid idea but I just didn't want you to go alone and I'd miss you and-"

"I get it Alfred. I still think you're stupid for doing it, but I get why you did." Mathew looked at his brother as the wind blew the hair out of his face, clearly seeing a tear fall down from his own cheek.

"SOLDIERS! ALL BOARD THE SS-173 PIKE!"

Mathew now was approaching the submarine that would take him and his brother into World War 2. He didn't want his brother to be here. He wanted him to be safe and sound at their house. But Mathew knew everything happened for a reason. He didn't know what the reason was though.

"Excuse me? Mr. Galante?" Alfred spun around to see a man with straight blond hair and green eyes about to tap his shoulder. He had large eye brows, which Alfred blushed at when he thought they looked kind of cute.

"Hello, I'm Arthur Kirkland. We're going to be sharing a bunker so I thought I'd introduce myself first."

"Oh-uh, hey. I'm Al- I mean Raivis."

Arthur chuckled, "Did you forget your name already?"

Now Alfred knew his blush was visible. _Damn, why does his accent have to be so hot, _he thought. They were now boarding the small decline into the sub. Alfred said his last goodbyes to Mathew as he boarded a different bunker. Alfred of course knew this was a deadly mission. That he could lose his life at any second. But something about his new roommate, made some of those fears go away.

"So", Arthur started. "Tell me about yourself."

A/N~

Hey guys this is my first fanfic. It is eventually going to get more USUK-ish, but I had to give some backdrop first. Hopefully if I get enough reviews I could write another chapter! So leave some critiques and say if you like it so far or not. Trust me it will get better ;) and dramatic….and kinda smutty but who wouldn't want that! ;3


	2. Chapter 2

~chapter 2~

A/N~ hey guys I just want to say thanks to everyone who added this story to their favorite story watch and for all of you who wrote great reviews! Sorry that the first chapter was not that interesting, I was stupid and forgot to save my changes to it OAO. So I hope this chapter will be more detailed and such. Thanks for reading!~

Fortunately for Alfred, there wasn't time at that moment to tell about himself. The captain of the submarine shouted throughout the small vessel for the newly recruited soldiers to meet in the eating area. There were small tables, (which were basically what Alfred considered to be picnic tables made of metal and bolted to the floor), where they all sat to discuss what they would experience while on the SS Pike and on their duties as soldiers.

While walking to the eating room with Arthur at his side, Alfred's eyes couldn't keep up with the about of wires and levers lining the walls of the sub. All different colors and shapes of flashing buttons and objects that looked as if they could be anything from a torture device to a cooking utensil. In the short amount of time it took for Alfred and Arthur to get there, they had to climb through three different doors and two other bunkers. They were one of the last groups to arrive to the meeting, other than Matthew and who Alfred suspected to be his roommate.

"Do you know him?" Alfred turned to see Arthur looking at him as they sat down together at a table.

"What?"

"That man with the glasses and curly hair. Do you know him? I noticed you looking at him when we walked in." Arthur looked Mathew's way and then back at Alfred.

"Oh-um, not really. I mean, I've seen him before, in the role call and all. But I don't know him personally." Alfred realized how much it hurt him to say that. He put his head down, breaking his gaze from Matthew. He was now missing his brother more than ever, and now, for his sake, he couldn't even say they were brothers without questions coming up about the real Raivis Galante not having any brothers. For all Alfred knew, Raivis Galante could have dozens of brothers and sisters.

"Oh I was going to say, you two look quite alike, but I guess that's just a coincidence. Poor chap; looks like he got stuck with that bloody git as a roommate."

Alfred followed Arthur's gaze to the table that held Matthew and a man with long white-gray hair and odd red eyes.

Alfred gave a slight chuckle. "I remember that guy. He had a funny way of saying "here sir" in roll call. Maybe Mattie could use someone like that to cheer him up once in a while."

"So his name is _Mattie?_" Arthur looked puzzled at a name like that.

"I mean Matthew! Uhh.. yeah, his name is Matthew. I just thought Mattie would be cuter- I MEAN COOLER!..." Alfred was so used to calling his brother the nickname he gave him when he was only a little boy; he forgot to keep his filter on. He knew he couldn't hide the frantic expression on his face.

"Are you sure you're oka-"

"ALRIGHT SOLDIERS! TODAY STARTS THE BEGINNING OF YOUR TIME IN THE NAVY ON THE SS PIKE!" The captain shouted, even though everyone could hear him clearly. Alfred was relieved to hear he cut Arthur's remark off. But as the captain continued to shout, Alfred couldn't help wondering to himself. _What am I gonna say if he asks me more about my family? I guess I don't have to make everything up, since he doesn't know my family in the first place. But sooner or later he's gonna catch on…_

The captain had short, light brown hair that curled at the ends, kind of like Matthew's, and green eyes. To Alfred he didn't look muscular at all, and rather short. His ears picked up on a comment coming from a different table.

"Does his voice seem kinda fake to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno, it just sounds like he's trying hard to make his voice lower…."

Alfred now was listening intently to the captain's voice.

"My name is Captain Lizabeto! You will refer to me only as that name!" He quieted his voice now. "This submarine has three levels: the deck, the middle, and the lower deck! On the deck will be the soldiers who will control the guns and firearms! In the middle will be the bunkers, torpedoes, mess hall, and navigation system with radar! In the lower deck are the generators and air supply! You should each know your position and what to do in case of emergency!"

Alfred did remember reading on Raivis' papers about the position he was assigned; gun control.

"Everyone accept the people who work with the radar navigation system will sleep at the time assigned. You will all be woken up if there is an emergency and in the morning at the assigned time. No one is to be out of their bunkers during sleeping hours. We are descending about 50 feet under the surface of the pacific. If we do not experience any strange activity on our radar by 2:00AM we will surface to the top of the water. If you could all report back to your bunkers, it is now the beginning of the sleeping hours. I will see all of you in the morning to report to duty!

Everyone did as told, and climbed into their separate bunkers. Alfred caught a glimpse at Matthew as he and Arthur were being shuffled out the first door. Matthew gave him a quick grin and went out of view through the opposite door leading to the radar and control center room. _Poor Mattie, he must barley be able to get any sleep on this thing._

Arthur and Alfred were alone in their bunker, in the dead silence of the submarine. They both climbed up to their mattresses and lay there staring at the ceiling and the single light that still shown in their room after the rest of the lights in the ship went off.

"Are you feeling alright Raivis?" Arthur noticed that his roommates face had almost totally flushed of color.

"What? Oh, yeah I'm fine." Almost instantaneously Alfred realized just how bad his stomach hurt. He'd never been one to get sea sickness, but he's also never been one to go 50 feet under the ocean. He glanced at Arthur who had his arms crossed behind his head, looking first at Alfred, and then at the ceiling. Alfred rolled over on his side and hugged his stomach under his thin blanket.

"Okay. Well goodnight then."

The words caught in Alfred's throat as he tried to force them out. "Goodnight." Alfred fell asleep a while later, trying to ignore his stomach. The night was mostly peaceful, in other words, no attacks on their sub.

A sudden jolt of the vessel woke Alfred up with a jerk, banging his head on the pipe that stand over his bunk.

"Dammit!" He whispered to himself rubbing his forehead. _Shit my stomach kills!_ Alfred tried to keep his moaning under control, but finally decided he needed fresh air or he would wake the whole sub with his vomiting. He picked up his clock and turned it towards the one light that shown in his bunker. 3:46AM. They should be above water. Careful not to make any noise, he climbed down from his bunker and towards the door that led to the porthole to the top deck. When he got there the door was slightly ajar. _That's weird. Maybe they're just letting more air in._ Alfred was careful to look around for any soldiers that might catch him, but they were all in the control room a few meters away. He slowly made his way up the ladder and out the small door that opened to the deck.

The moonlight shown on his blonde hair and pale face. He took a deep breath of the salty air to settle his stomach. Staggering to the chains that outline the deck, he sat down and held on with both hands, letting his legs hang of the side of the sub. The breeze felt nice and cooled down the pain that was still pounding in his forehead.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Alfred jerked around to see where the voice was coming from. He started to stand, but his stomach said otherwise.

"Ha-ha so I take it you _are_ sick."

"Arthur? What are you doing out here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same." Arthur sat down next to Alfred and let his legs hang off the edge. Alfred watched as his green eyes strayed from the bright moon to the distance of the ocean.

"It's nice out here, isn't it." He didn't face Alfred when he said this. Instead he kept his emotionless face forward.

"Why are you out here, do you feel sick too?"

"I like the view. It reminds me of home."

"Where's home for you?" Alfred meant to ask this when they first met, but never got the chance.

"England. My family and I moved here a few years ago. And you?"

"Uh, I'm just from the U.S. Nothing special really."

"What about your family?"

Alfred thought for a moment for his response, then decided the easiest thing to do was just keep it simple and to stop the questions in their tracks.

"My mom and dad both died in an accident. I don't like to talk about it much."

"Oh my, I'm sorry. We can talk about something else. Well, uh, what do you like to d-"

Alfred noticed Arthur stopped talking, but started listening, his eyebrows creasing together.

"Is everything okay?" Alfred asked, surprised. He fixed his glasses back on his nose to see if he was seeing right.

"Do you hear footsteps?"

Alfred listened closely, blocking out the breaking of waves against the submarine. Very faintly, they could hear the quiet _step-step-step_ of someone's shoes beneath the deck.

"Someone's near the ladder. Quick come with me!" Alfred whispered and grabbed Arthur's hand, leading him behind the row of firearms on the deck. They hid behind them until the footsteps trailed off to the far end of the sub.

"I almost forgot we're not allowed up here during sleeping hours." Arthur muttered between breaths.

"C'mon you gotta break some rules once in a while." Alfred gave Arthur a quick smile. His smile soon faded when the submarine gave another big jolt, knocking Arthur off his feet, landing on his side, and knocking Alfred into the ocean.

When Arthur regained his balance, he looked frantically around for Alfred, which was nowhere in sight.

"ALFRED! ALFRED WHERE ARE YOU?" This was the loudest whisper Arthur could manage without being caught, a whisper that had no response.

A/N~ bum bum bummmmmm! Ok I know it's not the best cliffhanger ever or the best chapter ever but oh well. Now that things are spicing up a bit I hopefully can now make it more romantic and dramatic. Don't worry there is another chapter after this so I won't leave you hanging. Thanks for reading!

~MMSD


	3. Chapter 3

A/N~ hey guys I'm actually in school right now hehe. At this moment I'm on Fanfiction (looking at my stats), YouTube (listening to Burning Night by Lily and Leia by Luka), and surfing deviantart for some cool art. Lol I'm probably going to get caught but oh well ;3 enjoy this next chapter! And at the end of ch 2 Arthur yells "Alfred" when it was supposed to be "Raivis" sorry.

"Raivis! Where are you?" Arthur was now between frantically looking for Alfred and looking back at the porthole to make sure no one saw they were missing. He looked over the side of the sub, gripping the chain with white knuckles. The water was pitch black beneath them, looking as if the water was replaced with tar.

"Raivis, are you in there?" At that moment, Arthur saw a bubble rise from the water, then another, then finally Alfred's head rose from the water. He was gasping for breath and what Arthur thought to be treading water. Drops of the sea were filling the air as Alfred splashed and kicked, trying to keep himself up. His glasses fell off his face and into the water, slowly dropping to the bottom of the dark ocean, getting further and further away.

"A-Arthur? I can't see!"

"Shh! They could catch us! Swim towards me! Quick!"

"I-I can't! I need hel-…" Alfred started to go back under the water, causing more bubbles to rise to the surface.

Before Arthur could think, he jumped in after Alfred. Sea salt filled his mouth and eyes, causing him to blink as many times as possible to stop the stinging. The sky was still dark; the only light that shown was the moon and stars above them. Wiping his hair out of his face, he reached for Alfred with his arms spread out, trying not to get hit by his flailing arms. He finally reached Alfred in the dark, cold sea, about 10 feet away from the submarine. Arthur grabbed Alfred by the waist, using all his strength to keep him above water.

"A-Arthur…?"

"It's okay Raivis just hang on to me." Arthur held Alfred over his shoulder as he breathed heavy on his neck, coughing and moaning. He swam towards the sub as fast and quiet as possible, without going under himself. They slowly made his way to the side of the vessel. Arthur held onto the side, still halfway in the water, and held Alfred with his remaining arm.

"Okay Raivis, I need you to hold on to this handle so I can pull you up." Arthur grabbed Alfred's had and wrapped his fingers around the handle on the side of the sub.

"Can you hang on by yourself Raivis?"

Arthur started to climb up the side of the sub to help Alfred up, but a shivering hand tugged him back down when he tried.

"Raivis what's wron-"

"Someone's up there. They heard us."

Arthur went back down into the freezing, dark water and listened. He heard a single mans footsteps pacing up and down on the deck right above their heads. From the water they were invisible, but slowly getting colder and colder from a soon arriving case of hypothermia.

"Is anyone out here?"

Arthur sank lower into the water, still holding Alfred close and keeping his head above water. He slowed down his breathing and tried to be as quiet as he could.

"A-A-Arthur….I'm f-f-freezing…."

"Don't w-worry he's almost g-g-gone." He heard the man's footsteps circle the front deck one last time, then go to the back of the deck, and finally down the porthole into the sub.

"Raivis, hold on to this handle until I pull you up okay?"

Alfred slowly nodded his head in reply; still light-headed from the amount of sea water he swallowed. Arthur lifted himself up onto the deck with quivering arms. Water dripped from his whole body, his soaking uniform stuck to his thin frame. He turned around to reach back into the water to get Alfred, whose lips and cheeks had turned blue. Slowly pulling him out of the water, he finally got his shivering body onto the deck. Arthur looked both ways, and put his arms under Alfred, carrying him close to his chest. Alfred let his arm drop to his side, while his other hand was gripping the collar of Arthur's uniform. When they reached the porthole Arthur slowly set Alfred down on the ground and put his ear on the ground to listen. He couldn't hear anyone below them.

"Okay Raivis, you need to go down the porthole as quietly as possible and wait for me down there. If anyone comes near you, quick hide. You got it?"

Once again Alfred slowly nodded his head, and tried to get on his feet. His uniform was stuck to his body and was dripping wet onto the deck. He slowly made his way to his feet, with help from Arthur.

"Ready?" Arthur twisted the wheel that popped the door to the porthole open, and lifted it silently. "Okay quick go inside into our bunker and I'll meet you there." Arthur whispered and helped Alfred down the ladder as much as he could. When he couldn't see him anymore, Arthur slowly made his way down the ladder and shut the porthole door above him. Once inside, he looked both ways in the dark hallways, no one was around. He tiptoed his way to his bunker and tried to stop as many drops of water from hitting the floor.

Feeling the walls as he made his way in the dark to his bunker, Arthur finally arrived and shut the bunker door behind him.

"Raivis are you in here?"

"I-I'm over here." The faint whisper came a couple feet away. In the dim light Arthur made out a figure curled up on the ground shivering.

"Raivis." Arthur made his way to him on the floor and crouched down next to him." "You need to get out of those soaking clothes or you'll never get warm."

"I-I don't have any dry clothes."

"Here, take off your shirt. You can borrow mine."

Alfred unbuttoned his uniform top, letting it flop to the floor and form a quick puddle on the ground.

"Um, y-you need dry pants too. Put your wet ones next to your shirt." Arthur couldn't hide the blush from his cheeks, but he knew nothing would be visible in the dim light. Once again he heard the flop of his wet pants on the ground. Arthur reached under his mattress for his spare clothes and handed them to Alfred.

"T-thank you." Alfred stood up and pulled the dry shirt over his neck. Arthur looked at his feet and noticed he had his own puddle forming around him. Alfred finished dressing and turned around to face Arthur.

"What are you going to wear? You're soaked too."

"Uh, I can just wear some boxers."

"Listen Arthur I'm really sor-" Right then Alfred gave a big cough that left him gasping for air.

"Raivis you need to lay down."

Alfred shifted his way to his mattress and lie down under his thin blanket, still shivering uncontrollably. Arthur quickly removed his dripping his dripping uniform and replaced it with just a pair of extra boxers. He hung up both his and Alfred's wet uniforms to dry the rest of the night, then made his way over to Alfred's mattress where he could hear his teeth chattering.

Arthur sat on Alfred's mattress next to his waist and looked down on him shaking under his blanket.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-y-yeah I'm f-fine." Alfred looked through his hair that covered his eyes and gazed at face. He was breathing heavy, his chest rising and falling as he crouched over Alfred. Alfred could feel the heat go into his cheeks as his eyes went down to meet Arthur's toned chest and abs, even though it was blurry without his glasses. _Oh shit!_

"A-Arthur. My glasses."

Arthur giggled. "You didn't think I forgot when I was saving you life, did you?" He bent down and retrieved the glasses that Alfred thought for sure would be at the bottom of the pacific.

"But-how did you get those?"

"I got them after I grabbed you." Arthur brushed Alfred's bangs out of his eyes with a gentle hand, stroking his hair to one side of his face, and placing his glasses over his eyes.

"Arthur, I'm sorry."

"For what? It's not your fault you fell over."

"No not that…"

Arthur got closer to Alfred and noticed he was still shivering. He got up and retrieved his blanket from his own bed and put it over Alfred, moving closer to Alfred's side. "Then what is it Raivis?"

"My names not Raivis."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N~ hey guys I hope you're all liking the story so far! And happy belated Valentine's Day! And you know what's even better than all the half priced chocolate on the day after? VALENTINES THEMED FANFICTIONS! WHOO! This isn't going to be valentines themed because that day is long gone but I must say this chapter is interesting... Enjoy!~

Alfred was looking up into Arthur's confused eyes. They were focused on his face, which was beginning to form a thin layer of sweat from the fever that was rising. His shivering had slowed down, but his hair now stuck to his burning forehead from the sweat.

"Oh God you must have a fever. Don't worry you're just confu-"

"No, Arthur! I mean I'm not the real Raivis. I'm not even supposed to be here!" Alfred could feel his lungs go out of breath as he forced the words out of his burning chest.

"What in bloody hell are you talking about?" Arthur managed to slowly inch back from Alfred's side, moving to the end of the mattress.

"My…my name is Alfred. I took Raivis' place."

"What? Why on earth would you have to lie about your name?"

"Because I was rejected by the navy."

Arthur looked up at Alfred at the other end of the bed.

"But- How are you here then? I don't understand. I think I should get a nurse or something." Arthur began to sit up and walk towards the door, but Alfred's weak hand stopped him.

"No! No one can know, you hear me! If they found out I'll be kicked out for sure!" Alfred told him the whole story. About his ankle. About Raivis; the real Raivis. And finally about how he couldn't leave Matthew behind.

"Oh Alfred," Arthur sat back down next to his side. "DO YOU KNOW HOW STUPID YOU ARE YOU, BLOODY GIT!" He put both hands on Alfred's shoulders and gave him a light shake.

"Haha, you sound just like Mattie…." He turned his head to the side and muttered, "But he's a lot cuter..." Under his breath.

"SHUT UP THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" Arthur whispered, but couldn't help the smile from spreading on his face as he saw Alfred's eyes smiling back from behind his long bangs.

It took a moment for Arthur to realize his position at that moment. He was looking down on Alfred with one leg on each side of his waist; his hands still on his shoulders and Alfred still lying on the bed under him.

"Oh-uhh I'm sorry I'll just-" Arthur moved to the back of the mattress but was stopped dead in his tracks.

"AAAHH!" Alfred's eyes closed tight in pain, his hands gripping the sheets beneath him.

"What! What's wrong!"

Alfred spoke through gritted teeth. "You're-on-my-ankle!"

"Shit!" Arthur quick stood up and released his weight from Alfred's ankle. "I'm so sorry I forgot!" Returning back to his original position next to Alfred's side, Arthur searched for something to say.

"Alfred, can I ask you something?"

Alfred was staring at the ceiling with his chest rising and falling fast. "Sure. Just don't kill me in the process."

Arthur ignored the comment. "Your ankle, is that why you couldn't swim?"

Alfred once again gave out a little laugh. "Haha, I know I might've lied to you and stuff, but trust me, I can swim."

"How did you hide your ankle this whole time?"

"It stopped hurting for a while, but when I fell in I couldn't kick to keep myself up because it hurt too much. And I couldn't tell you because I knew you'd know something was up." Alfred looked over at Arthur, whose head was down but his eyes were focused on him.

"Oh." Arthur rested his back on the head of Alfred's bed. "So _Alfred_, you do realize you're going to have to tell me about yourself now." He shot a glance Alfred's way and made a smirk on his face.

"Oh like _you_ should be talking! I know nothing about you. And you actually have a true identity…you do right?"

"Haha, yes I am still Arthur Kirkland…And still the person that saved your life." He said under his breath.

"Hey! Unless you can top sneaking into the navy with a sprained ankle I am the hero of this bunker!"

"Hehe okay, okay. So can I ask you about yourself now?"

"I guess."

"Uhh, is Matthew your boyfriend?"

"HAHA, NO! Mattie's my brother!"

*super blush that couldn't be missed from land* "OH….so, do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend or.."

"No. No one really caught my eye to be honest." Alfred looked over at Arthur, whose face was almost beet red. He turned his face to the wall to hide the smirk that he couldn't hold back.

"W-Well I think your fever is going down." Arthur quick changed the subject, he wadded up an end of the sheet that lay on top of Alfred and tabbed the sweat off his forehead.

"Why thank you nurse Iggy." Alfred squinted his eyes and said with a smirk. But when he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry.

"Arthur you dick! Where are my glasses!" Alfred sat up and tried to feel around in the dim light. About a foot away from his face he could see the silhouette of Arthur with something dangling from his hand.

"Give me back my glasses!" Alfred reached for Arthur's hand but only felt air.

"Haha you're going to have to find them." Arthur sang.

Alfred angrily crawled forward, searching around the air, trying to reach Arthur. Slowly crawling backwards, Arthur held the glasses out with one hand, laughing and watching Alfred hit the air. He was close to letting out a loud laugh, when his back hit the wall and stopped his crawling.

"Ouch!" Arthur looked down and rubbed the back of his head. Just then a wild and blind Alfred appeared and tackled him off the bed and to the floor.

"You bloody git! Get off me!"

"Where are my glasses!" Alfred was hitting Arthur, the floor and everywhere trying get his glasses. He pulled Arthurs hair and somehow pinned him to the floor. Alfred had both legs on either side of Arthur and looked blankly down on him.

"I told you, you have to find them!" Arthur laughed at the confused expression on Alfred's face.

"You suck!" Alfred felt all around for his glasses, then realized he was feeling all around Arthur's abs.

"Okay I'll give you a clue, they're not on my stomach or my face you git!" Arthur blushed so hard he was sure his cheeks were as hot as a match, but he almost wished he wouldn't have said anything.

"Then give them baa-ack!" In the middle of his plead, Alfred's knee slipped on a spot of water on the hard floor that hadn't dried from before; sending his chest down on Arthur's, making Alfred resting and looking down on him, nose-to-nose.


	5. Chapter 5

"AHH! My chest!" Alfred raised his scarred knees and shifted his weight to one arm, which raised him slightly, making him hover over Arthur. He shut his eyes and rubbed his chest, wishing it would take the slight pain away.

Arthur on the other hand laid flat on the ground, shocked, cheeks flushed with 50 shades of red. He felt the weight of Alfred's glasses press against his left hand as he looked up at him. He never noticed how crystal blue his eyes were. Even the faint light that shown in their bunker made a wholesome reflection in his eyes. Although, Arthur did think he looked better with glasses. Without them Alfred's eyes looked dazed, dancing around the air as if not being able to focus on one thing.

Alfred still had one leg on each side of Arthur's waist, as Arthur's back lie flat on the floor.

Arthur shifted his gaze from Alfred's wandering eyes to his left hand that held the glasses. He lifted his arm, gently placing the glasses on the end of Alfred's nose, then resting his arm back by his side. Alfred stay looking forward while he shifted his glasses to the right fit. He slowly moved his gaze down, seeing Arthur beneath his as his legs strattled on either side on him.

"OH MY GOD IM SO SORRYYY!-" Once again Alfred's knees gave out due to the wet floor that covered their bunker. His chest came crashing down on top of Arthurs for a second time.

Arthur squeezed his eyes shut. "Ugh! You know you really need to stop doing that." When his eyes opened, a pair of patent blue eyes were staring right back only an inch from his face.

Arthur could feel Alfred's cool breath brush his face as he started to apologize in a soft whisper.

"I…I'm-" The words were lost in Alfred's throat as he glared into Arthur's pure green eyes. Before he could think, Alfred was lowering his head and lips closer to Arthurs, wanting so badly to finally feel his lips against his. As he could just feel Arthur's warm embrace, a loud bang on their bunker door sent Alfred jumping off the ground.

"IT IS TIME TO REPORT TO DUTY SOLDIERS! REPORT TO YOUR STATIONS EMEDIATLY!" Captain Lizabeto's voice rang on throughout the whole bunker.

Arthur and Alfred's cheeks might as well have heated the whole pacific. They both swiftly got to their feet and looked at the still soggy floor with the new bright light that shown through their room which meant it was time to get up.

"Oh shit! We didn't sleep all night." Arthur nonchalantly stretched his arms, avoiding Alfred's eyes and handed him his uniform that had been drying throughout the night. They both dressed in silence and glided out their bunker door and to their positions on the sub.

When Alfred noticed Arthur hadn't left his side as he went to his position on the top deck, he asked what Arthurs position was.

"I'm on gun control. Apparently I couldn't use the sonar machine at all, so they decided I'd be good at shooting people." Alfred noticed Arthur had the same expression on his face when he said this as how Alfred himself looked when he talked about the war in general.

"I'm on gun control too. Well technically _I_ wasn't supposed to be, but Raivis must've been a good sniper or something."

"Ugh, what a _great_ thing to have a talent at." Arthur muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. Here, why don't you take this position next to me. I'll teach you how to work the firearms."

The salty air filled Alfred's nose as he rose to the top deck behind Arthur. The clouds let virtually no light through as they crowded the sky. A slight draft brushed the bangs out of Alfred's eyes, allowing him to fully see the deck.

The deck consisted of two types of soldiers. The soldiers that controlled the massive firearms that were taller than themselves, and were bolted into the floor. With each consistent shot that it let out, a loud vibration rang through the sub.

The other soldiers were scattered around the top deck with hand-held automatics. These did let out vibrations, but not compared to the ones the bolted-in firearms did. Alfred noticed these soldiers must be more likely to get injured or killed while shooting the enemy because they were out in the open, while the soldiers running the other guns were guarded by its huge size.

As Captain Lizabeto separated the soldiers into two groups, Alfred and Arthur found themselves with the hand help automatic guns. They both shuffled their feet on the wooded deck to their positions. They were both stationed at the top of the deck overlooking the crashing waters.

Alfred held his gun close to his white uniform, looking over at Arthur who was doing the same. They were ordered, like every other soldier, to keep their eye out for enemy vessels and to stay in your position.

They both stood still, gazing out to the horizon and the wing blew their uniforms off their tired frames. Arthur noticed Alfred starting to daydream and lose his focus in the world ahead.

"So _Raivis,_ you never told me exactly where you are from."

"What? Oh, uh I'm actually from Wisconsin. Like I said, nothing exciting. The only good thing is I'm probably the only one here besides Mattie that'll be able to stand it when it gets cold." Alfred laughed, but continued to look forward. "What's it like in England?"

"Well I must say I would rather have cold than all the rain we get. We practically learn how to swim just by walking around town." Arthur muttered.

Alfred let out a loud snort, which made him quickly cover his mouth with his free hand.

"What is so funny?"

"You really think the rain is worse than a Wisconsin winter."

"Well it can't be _that_ cold."

"Haha okay I'll make a deal with you, when we get home you'll come to my place during winter and try to last three days."

"More like _if _we get home." Arthur looked past his weapon and whispered.

Alfred didn't have a reply to this. He shook the thoughts of him and Matthew not returning home together out of his head. He didn't even want to picture Arthur no returning home.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think like that." This was the first Arthur had looked at Alfred since the incident in their bunker, and Alfred returned his gaze.

"I know. It is a damn war after all."

"I wouldn't say that too loud. Those soldiers are everywh-"

"LOAD YOUR WEAPONS! ENEMY VESSEL DETECTED!" The voice came from the other end of the deck. Alfred and Arthur both turned around, recognizing the voice, but not catching what it said.

"Mattie? Wow that's the loudest I've ever heard you talk." Alfred was both happy and confused to see his brother. He knew he was safe through the night, but why was he above deck when he worked in the sonar room?

The next thing Alfred and Arthur saw was Matthew returning under the deck in a frantic motion. The whole crew of soldiers on the deck seemed to go in a big uproar.

"A-Arthur? What's going on?"

"I don't know!" Arthur was frantically looking at the other soldiers who were putting their guns up to their faces.

"Al-Raivis we're under attack!" Arthur looked at Alfred with worried eyes, and then positioned his gun on his face, scoping the horizon.

"Raivis what are you doing! Get in position!" Arthur was now screaming, but all Alfred could do was stare forward at all the frantic soldiers. Some were intently focusing on their invisibly target, others were saying silent prayers and making signs of the cross over their uniforms.

"IT'S COMING! PREPARE FOR INPACT!"

"Alfred get down!" Arthur rushed to Alfred's side to try to get him to the ground, but it was too late. The submarine gave a violent shake as Alfred watched a torpedo barley miss their sub. The wave it made caused an aftershock of rocking back and forth, knocking Alfred off his feet and headfirst onto the hard deck.

He lay face down on the deck, only faintly hearing the roar of gunshots and yelling, but they seemed distant.

"Alfred! Alfred get up!" Arthur was at Alfred's side, turning him over and facing him up. Alfred couldn't focus on Arthurs face, his head was spinning, his vision going in and out of blurriness. Every time he heard a gunshot or scream, is seemed as though it came from a mile away. He tried to close his eyes many times, but every time he did Arthur would jerk him awake again.

"Alfred just stay awake okay! Can you hear me! Alfred!" Another blow came to their vessel, this time a torpedo just skimmed their left side. Many people got knocked off their feet, a few were desperately holding onto the chains that border the deck as they tried to lift themselves back up and away from the raging water. In Alfred's eyes, everything was happening in slow motion. He heard a million voices at once, but he could still make out Arthurs over all.

Alfred slowly lifted his hand to the back of his head; bringing it back to his face to reveal is was stained red with blood. He looked up to see if Arthur saw it too, but Arthur was somewhere between covering Alfred with his body and shooting a gun at the sea. His vision became blurrier. His eyes were beginning to close before he could even object. The world outside slowly became a distant memory as Alfred's vision became black.

It was only the loud vibration of the submarine that woke Alfred up with a painful and dizzy jerk. The vibration of their sub was caused by one of our own torpedoes being launched at the enemy through the crashing waves of the pacific. His vision and hearing were still blurry, but if he moved slowly he could manage to make out figures.

The soldiers on the SS Pike were still frantically shooting and cursing. If they weren't doing that, they were lying down in a pool of blood. Some of the lucky survivors of gunshots were brought below deck for treatment, but others were obvious that there would be no need for further assistance.

Alfred returned his hand to the back of his head. Most of the bleeding had stopped and the blood had dried, but there was still a faint cut he could detect. Managing to get to his knees, Alfred stayed low to the ground, and faced the ground. His stomach couldn't take any more of this. That was until the little stream of blood from overhead began to cover Alfred's knees. His eyes followed the trial to where it was coming from. Arthur. Who was lying on his side, holding a blood-stained hand over his already soaked shoulder.

A/N~ hey everyone, sorry I haven't updated in a while, I have been sick. But I hope you like this chapter! Please write a review if you like the story it will really mean a lot! Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

His head was still pounding, even though most of the bleeding had stopped. The world was still out of focus, further from Alfred's grasps. Salty waves were crashing over the side of the sub, splashing the soldiers who were still firing their guns at the enemy, and whisking away some of the blood that was splattered on the deck; letting it sink into the depths of the pacific.

The trail of blood that was coming from Arthur was now forming a silhouette under Alfred's sprawled palm. He couldn't keep his eyes off the sight he saw before him. The sight of Arthur curled on the ground clutching his bloody shoulder as the waves cowered over him, making him shiver and wince as the salty water filled his open wounds.

Alfred couldn't move an inch; until he felt the hand on his shoulder. He was jerked back to reality when a tall soldier with a gun strapped to his chest screamed in his ear and jolted his shoulder. That's when Alfred's hearing also came back. He could hear every scream, gunshot, and wave surround him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! WE NEED TO GET YOU BELOW! IF YOU LOSE ANY MORE BLOOD WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET A NEW DECK!" The man looked down on him with his unusually red eyes, his white hair sticking to his forehead from the waves that splashed over him. He started to pull Alfred up off his knees while still looking over his shoulder. Alfred frantically looked at Arthur and then back at the man who was beginning to drag him away.

"Wait! No! NO! I have to get Arthur! He's dying! Let…GO of me!" Alfred broke the grip between him and Gilbert, flying forward and landing on his knees a few feet away from where Arthur lay. Alfred could feel the skin on his knees tare away as he used them to break his fall.

Crawling and sliding quickly towards Arthur, Alfred stayed low to the ground. He looked back to see if Gilbert was following him, but he moved on to another injured person and carefully tried to get him below deck and still try to avoid being shot. When he finally reached Arthur, Alfred could see the pool of blood that was continuing to leak from Arthurs shoulder. He turned Arthur over so he would be looking up at him, but his eyes were closed

"Arthur! Arthur can you hear me!" Alfred gave Arthur a slight shake, but he didn't respond. His eyes were closed tight, but his arms went limp. Arthurs hand still rested over his shoulder, blocking where the blood was coming from.

Alfred was breathing fast, his lungs filled with more air every second. He screamed Arthur's name, trying to somehow get him to hear him through all the commotion.

"Arthur get up! C'mon we need to get you out of here GET UP!" It took everything for Alfred to keep his tears in. The crease on his forehead deepened, and so did the pain. He looked over at Arthur's hand which was covering his wound, and slowly set it to his side, revealing the deep cut that shown where once normal skin used to be.

It was a clear bullet wound directly in Arthur. The skin was torn and bloody, revealing the muscle that lay underneath. Alfred almost fainted when he saw this; he knew he had to get Arthur out of there before he bled to death. His skin was drastically pale, and sweat appeared on his forehead in glistening drops.

"I'm gonna get you out of here Arthur." Alfred bent down and grabbed Arthur by his waist, quickly pulling him over his shoulders. He ran as fast as he could to the port hole which led to the lower deck; trying not to slip on the soaked floor. Dodging bullets and injured people, Alfred was going to get Arthur safe if it killed him, literally.

Alfred could hear the bullets cutting through the air around him. He could feel the pain in his head feel as if it was about to burst. Nothing was in slow motion now. If Alfred could slow down time, he would; anything to get this adrenaline out of his body and get Arthur to safety.

When he was just feet from the port hole, Alfred didn't wait to crouch down. He slid on his already scarred knees and shut his eyes in pain. Slowly taking Arthur off his shoulders and setting him on the deck, he pulled opened the porthole door with one great tug. As Alfred began to put one arm under Arthur's legs and the other under his back, he looked back to the soldiers rapidly firing behind him. Some were still in their positions; others were gripping the side of the submarine for dear life as the waves made it violently rock back and forth.

Alfred set one foot into the inner part on the sub; carrying Arthur close to his chest. He slowly inched down the ladder one foot at a time, still wanting to hurry, but not wanting to fall. When he got to the bottom he gently set Arthur on the ground. He looked up at the open porthole above him, climbing the ladder to shut out the light and the ongoing battle. Halfway up the ladder he reached as far as he could, barley getting hold of the door. Alfred pulled his hand to his side as the heavy door began to descend over its hole. He watched as a metallic bullet flew past the dim opening, and then tightly wound the door shut.

Carrying Arthur once more, Alfred now sprinted to the nurses' station, if only he knew where it was. He went through every hallway, every open door, but found no nurse waiting to take care of Arthur. He then found himself standing in front of his own bunker door; sliding sideways through the entrance and placing Arthur over the blankets of his mattress. The room was dimly lit, but even in the poor light Alfred could see how pale and lifeless Arthur was.

"Arthur, Arthur can you hear me?" The American winced when he saw a slight moan escape Arthurs blue lips.

"ARTHUR! Are you okay!" But once again, there were no words to respond, not even a moan this time. Alfred leaned in closer to Arthur's ear. He could smell the saltwater that soaked his blonde hair; pushing it out of his eyes and to one side.

This time he slowly whispered, his breath brushing Arthurs ear. "Arthur?"

The first thing Arthur saw was a bloody Alfred an inch away from his face, whispering in his ear. Is eyes opened wide with shock, causing their two foreheads to strike together as Arthur jerked to sit up.

"What the hell are you doing? " Arthur rubbed his forehead and laid his head down. He looked up at Alfred doing the same.

"I was just saving your life until you decided to head-butt me!"

"What in bloody hell are you talking abo-!" Alfred watched as Arthur's eyes closed in pain as he tried to sit up; a fine crease appearing on his already red forehead. He balled his fists and grabbed his shoulder in agonizing pain. He wrapped his hand against in, trying to hold down the pain.

"Ugh! That bloody git shot me!" He said this through gritted teeth and closed eyes.

"We have to get you to a nurse. I already had to save you once and I don't know if can do it again. You're heavier than you look!"

"Shut up! And what do you mean you saved me!"

Alfred told him about how he woke up and saw Arthur covered in blood, and about how he carried him in the sub but ended up having to bring him in their bunker.

"I don't remember any of that. All I remember is being shot and laying on the ground."

"That's kinda why we need to get you to a nurse, smart-ass."

Arthur muttered under his breath, "Not much of a hero if you can't even get me to a doctor."

"Would you like to walk there yourself ya little Brit!"

Right on cue, Arthur let out a scream that filled the whole bunker. His knuckles turned white. He clutched the sheets beneath him with his free hand, wanting anything to take this pain away.

Alfred ran to the bunker door and shouted into the empty hallway. "HELP! WE NEED HELP!"

He waited a few moments, frantically looking to both ends of the hallway for someone to help, but no one came. He ran back to Arthur's side, sitting next to him on the mattress.

"Arthur I'm sorry. No one's coming but I'm not going to let you die!" Alfred put his head in his hands, he was helpless to Arthur.

"Are you kidding, you kept me alive for this long. I'm not above to give up now." His voice was barley a whisper, all Alfred could do was watch Arthur's chest slowly rise up and down.

Alfred raised his eyes to Arthurs face, meeting his watered down eyes. He leaned in closer to Arthur, slowly inching towards his face. Feeling Arthurs uneven breaths on his lips, Alfred leaned in one inch more, tilting his neck in a deep kiss. Their eyes closed and their lips met.

After a few moments, Alfred drew back his head an inch from Arthurs, a light sigh escaping his lips.

"I-I'm sorry. If I do lose you, I couldn't live with myself without doing that once."

"I never said stop." A faint laugh left Arthurs mouth as he looked up at a worried Alfred.

Alfred's lips broke the space between them again, pressing hardly back on Arthurs. Time wasn't present; nothing mattered in this moment, until the bunker door flew open.

"Does someone need hel-!"

Both Alfred and a wounded Arthur broke their kiss and looked up to see Matthew's ghost-white face staring right at them, a first-aid kit in hand.

"I-I heard someone calling for help so I-… I got a-… Am I interrupting something?" Matthew tried to keep a serious expression, but even he couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face.

Both Alfred and Arthur's cheeks gave off rays of heat. Arthur tried to sit up to attempt to make an escape, but he was jolted back by his wounded shoulder.

"Oh you really are hurt. What happened?" Matthew shuffled over to the side of the bed and examined Arthurs shoulder.

"He- uh- he was shot." Alfred couldn't look anywhere but the floor as he lifted his weight off the mattress and onto his own bed.

"Oh God. We need to get you to the surgeon's room stat." Matthew ran to the bunker door and blew a whistle that he took from his pocket. He shoved it back in his pocket and yelled down the hall, "I need doctors in bunker 4!"

Only second's later three men in light blue smocks rushed into the tiny bunker and gently placed Arthur on a hand-held gurney and carried him off down the hallway.

"W-wait! Where are you going with him? Arthur!" Alfred began to chase after the doctors that were taking Arthur away, but Matthew blocked his way.

"Calm down Al they're taking him into surgery to get the bullet out, he'll most likely be fine."

"MOST LIKLEY? WHEN DID YOU START TALKING SO MUCH ANYWAYS, WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ANY OF THIS?"

" Hey, I talk!...Sometimes…When I have to…Just calm down lover-boy everything's going to be fine."

"Shut up! You don't know h-!" Alfred was stopped by the pain in the back of his head returning, pounding with agony as he let out a scream and fell to his knees.

"Alfred! Alfred stand up we need to get you to a doctor!" The last thing Alfred saw was Matthew crouching down by him and calling his name, but then everything went black one more.


End file.
